MEET GRATEFUL CATERING Hi 👋

Did I ever tell you about the time I (almost) worked at the White House?

Did I ever tell you about the time I almost worked at the White House? Did I? It’s an absolutely true thing that %100 happened to me. It Twas actually published as a short story (very short, almost haiku if you will). True story. Reminds me of the time I remarked to Margaret Atwood in front of her whole family at Big Crow that she (Peggy) and I were “The same” as we both were published authors at Random House. Dead Silence. Like a lot of it. No one laughed. Like a lot of No One Laughed. Awkward much? True Story (actually).

THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURE OF ANTHONY ROSE AND HOW HE ALMOST WORKED AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

Published by Random House 1997

Edited by absolutely no one (very very obvious tbh)

Pics by yours truly

Flowers by Cool Flowers by A Rose

Captions by the talented Rob Wilder

I was but a little guy (jk I was ABSOLUTELY NEVER LITTLE) and it was the year 1999 maybe, ish, I think. Finishing my first semester at the California Academy in San Francisco I needed to pick somewhere to do my internship, big or go home was my motto. I preferred the idea of wherever I was going to be I wanted it to be an adventure. So I called The Whitehouse.

Walter Scheib was the Chef of The Whitehouse at the time being headhunted by Hillary Clinton from the Greenbrier. OMG the Greenbrier, do you even know? Can I digress? I will. The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. If you Golf (I do not) if you tennis (kinda sorta but nah) if you Casino (yes but very badly) if you eat and drink and be merry (yes yup 👍 ) then this is the place for you. Truly a unique experience of Southern Hospitality at its best.

Reserve here where I obviously get huge (zero) kickbacks (I need an agent).

So what’s a cook to do? I called The Whitehouse of course. Call The White House here it’s that easy. I call and ask for the Kitchen, they transfer me to the Kitchen and I hear a very busy raucous kitchen when someone answers “KITCHEN”! I ask for Chef Walter Scheib please and they yell “CHEF PHONE”. They don’t put me on hold and I can hear cooks cooking and pots stirring and Bill quietly eating fried chicken and biscuits covered in sausage gravy and collard greens hiding in a corner so as not to upset Hilary.

Chef Scheib comes on the phone and I introduce myself and I am very nervous. He says yes absolutely they take internships and I am very nervous. We chat for about 15 minutes and Chef wants to know all about me and where I came from, what drives me and what I want to do in the future and and and and and it is awesome and I see my stupid almost always sarcastically driven dreams come true. But then the cleaver drops and he says “Oh are you Canadian”? I guess I said Eh one too many times. Yes, I am a proud Canadian I respond. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. So apparently the “Secret Service” will not allow foreigners Interns as it is too much trouble re background checks blah blah blah my heart drops and he offers to put me in touch with Jean Chretien who he just cooked for and I say thank you very much anyway. He gave me his email address (email was pretty new atm) he thanked me for calling, wished me luck and we parted ways.

I think the greatest takeaway from all this is that you can just CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND TALK TO WHOEVER YOU WANT. Chef Scheib was let go under the Bush administration as Laura Bush wanted a more formal presentation at meals, and President Bush disliked soup, salad, and poached fish—staples of Scheib's cuisine. Instead, the president favoured peanut butter and honey sandwiches, BLTs, and cheeseburgers. Same George, same.

Meet Grateful Catering - Hi 👋

You got the people, we got the food, what more do you need?

Order Grateful catering here ← it is just that easy. Just go check it out at least. From Sabbath Dinners to Office Lunches, Shiva’s to Bris’s, Pastrami to Verscht, Pork Fried Rice to Cous Cous. I think we got it all covered. I put together a Smorgasbord of all my favourites from over the years. Rose and Sons & Big Crow & Fat Pasha & Schmaltz Appetizing and some new deliciousness I am trying as well. If you don’t see what you are looking for just ask and I am sure we can come to some sort of arrangement which most likely is a yes.

Holiday Parties nu? - Fat Pasha & Fet Zun

You got the people, we got the food, what more do you need?

Reserve here for smaller groups ← or maybe you are a larger group and want 1/2 the restaurant or THE WHOLE THING for a buyout and want to impress your office or friends or family or lover(s)? Then message me below and we can start the conversation. NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Bar or Bat Mitzah photo booth tradition is an epic experience if you have ever been in one or two or with others in one. You jump inside as a single or double or multiple and put on awesome glasses or hats or scarves and get a strip of pictures to take home with the bar or Bat Mitzah person’s name on it. YES get a strip of pictures - old-school amazingness. Picture her at Eli Offmans Bar Mitzvah is Simon Rose.

We/I are massive fans of pastrami (recipe to come in a future post - keep tuned). What I love about the pastrami and the Clintons is you take a second cut of meat (meaning not the top cut) and season it, pickle it, smoke it, cook it, steam it and you get the most incredible outcome - Just like the Clintons. STAY TUNE FOR THE RECIPE. PS - Yes you can order pastrami at Grateful Catering.

We/I have a traditional Friday night every Friday night - not religious but traditional - BIG DIFFERENCE. Challah, matzoh ball chicken soup, pickle platter, some form of potatoes and roast chicken. YES YOU HEARD IT HERE - YOU CAN GET THIS AT GRATEFUL CATERING. Why am I yelling? Because you can get it at Grateful Catering every Friday and be like us - full of love and tenderness. I gotta say starting a meal with bread and soup was invented by someone who likes to be so full they want to roll on the floor and cuddle with little puppies - I digress as that is for later.

Salatim platters brought to you by the one and only Grateful Catering. Featured Fried Crushed Potatoes are a must addition to the experience. One of my fav things to do is get together with 7 friends (aka my family), order up a few platters and watch the game (aka friends or family ties or the game). BE like us, live your dreams, eat more dips. Love and joy to the world.

The time I was featured talking about Herring. Herring is not on the Grateful Catering website but is available at the only schmaltz appetizing. If you are like me and Avi you eat herring at least twice a week. It’s all about getting your Omega 3 and other awesome minerals. Yes, I am a massive herring fan and one day hope that everyone will be a herring fan too. A person can dream.

Well, what do we have here Anthony Rose (asked by Rob)? Well, let me tell you, Rob. Chicken Schwarma, Fried Potatoes, Chicken Schwarma, Fried Potatoes and More Fried Potatoes. A person who eats like this is going to heaven. At the Gates, G-d will tell you that you can enter and enjoy bliss and happiness because you ate Chicken Schwarma, Fried Potatoes, Chicken Schwarma, Fried Potatoes and More Fried Potatoes. TRUE - this is the ticket to eternal happiness - available at - yes you heard it here - grateful catering. Endorsed by G-D.

The time Anthony Rose grew his hair out and looked like an awesome rocker (not rocker Dave) but a rocker nonetheless. it’s the smile that gets me every time. It is the kind of smile that says I hear you and I care what you are saying. Come in and Anthony will smile at you - promise. Love to all. Your friend in call the captions of the photos - Rob Wilder.